Exploring Income Distribution

4. Is income today distributed more or less equally than it was in
1978? You can find out by updating the income distribution table in
the reading. If you cannot find the data you need elsewhere, you
should be able to find them here:

During the administration of Ronald Reagan, people noted that the
data suggested that income distribution was becoming less equal and
they blamed the policies of Ronald Reagan for this change. Look at
the data and find the year in which income seems to be most equal.
What has happened since? Does the trend towards inequality begin at
or after the time Reagan became president? Does it stop when he left
office? Does the trend toward inequality seem to be something that
Reagan caused?

5. Search the internet for "Gini coefficient." What is it and what
does it have to do with this section?